There has been a lot of buzz over the last few days regarding Verizon finally being able to sell the iPhone after four years of being available exclusively through AT&T. My question today is, did Apple make a catastrophic marketing error by not allowing Verizon to sell the iPhone until this year? While the phone is still expected to sell well in the US market, time will tell how many potential iphone users have now settled for another brand of smartphone.
I am a Verizon customer who was waiting for the iPhone. I have been eligible for an upgrade for over a year now. This poor old phone of mine has total call time of 636:37:53. Most people I know gave up on Verizon getting the iPhone and settled for an alternative about a year ago. People have upgraded to Android phones or a Blackberry, because trust me, people’s loyalty to Verizon seems to be a lot higher than to Apple. Funny thing about smart phones is that once people own one, brand loyalty seems to be pretty high.
How many Blackberry or Droid users will readily switch to an iPhone…and how many iPhone users see a blackberry as an alternative. Needless to say many Verizon customers who simply got a Blackberry or Droid and are now locked into contracts for another year or two. As for switching to AT&T, some people did, but lets be honest when you live in the US there is only one network you want to be on….Verizon.
Only time will tell if Apple really has a dominant product strong enough to take over the portion of the market share they could have had, or if they made a fatal marketing error. What do you think?
For more info see this article.
I don’t think the whole exclusive vendor thing was a good idea… the way that smartphones OUGHT to be purchased is online from the company that designs the phone itself.
Apple has brand recognition, they could easily have sold the phones on their website outright, and then if you want a mobile phone plan you pick a vendor and get a SIM card.
Maybe this wasn’t as easy in 2007, but because the iPhone was the first phone with a huge aftermarket resale value and constant demand for ‘unlocked’ phones maybe Apple’s phone created a new way of thinking about or wanting to purchase smartphones?
I like how Apple is selling the 3G iPad. You walk into a store with money and a wish, and you walk out with an iPad. If you want a data plan then you need to buy one from a provider, end of story.
All in all I think allowing Verizon to have the iPhone isn’t “too little too late” but maybe it’s just “little too late”